In this section

RADBOURN

The old parish of Radbourn was depopulated
during the 15th century and its church allowed to fall
into ruin. (fn. 1) It was divided into Upper and Lower
Radbourn, which were regarded as separate extraparochial districts, lying, respectively, to the north and
south of a small stream, close to the right bank of which
is the site of the old church. It lies to the east of
Ladbroke, with which it was historically closely connected. A charter of King Ethelred, (fn. 2) given in 998,
rehearses the boundaries of Ladbroke and Radbourn,
but it does not seem possible to relate them to the map;
'Wylman ford', at which point they start and end, was
on the borders of Radbourn and Wormleighton;
'Cocgebyll', which also occurs in the same charter as
one of the bounds of Southam, is found in 1253 as
'Cockesbyle', on the road running west from Priors
Marston; (fn. 3) and the 'waetergefael' is presumably that
which gave its name to Watergall, south-west of Lower
Radbourn; but connecting those scattered links is more
than difficult.

A barn called 'Radborne barn', near Napton, but
probably on the borders of this parish, in 1625 was
a place of resort for rogues and vagabonds, who
plotted felonies and shared their spoils there.
Orders were given for the constables of neighbouring
parishes to send men secretly at night to arrest any
rogues found there, and for the barn to be utterly
destroyed. (fn. 4)

Manors

In 998 King Ethelred gave to the
ealdorman Leofwine 4½ mansae in Ladbroke and Radbourn. (fn. 5) Leofwine was
father of Leofric of Mercia, but the estate does not
seem to have descended to him. (fn. 6) In 1086 the estates
of Turchil included 1½ hides in Ladbroke and Radbourn, held of him by Almar. (fn. 7) The overlordship
descended with the Earls of Warwick, RADBOURN
being held of them as one-tenth knight's fee in 1235,
1242, (fn. 8) 1316, (fn. 9) and 1400. (fn. 10) It was held in fee by
Turchil's descendants, the Ardernes, of whom William
gave the church and a virgate of land to the nuns of
Henwood Priory (fn. 11) before the end of the 12th century. (fn. 12)
His son William gave, by permission of Thomas de
Arderne, land and extensive pasturage to Combe
Abbey (fn. 13) and was holding the one-tenth fee in 1235, (fn. 14)
as was Thomas de Arderne in 1242, (fn. 15) and William
(probably his brother) (fn. 16) in 1267; (fn. 17) in 1316 it was said
to be held by William de Rodbourn. (fn. 18) This was an
alias for William, son of William de Arderne, (fn. 19) whose
descendant and namesake in 1369 conveyed the manor
to John de Catesby, (fn. 20) to whom Hugh de Prestwode
and Agnes his wife (probably heiress of this line of
Ardernes) at the same time released their rights. (fn. 21)
In 1412 Radbourn was one of the places in which free
warren was granted to Emma, widow of John Catesby,
and John, her son. (fn. 22) When William Catesby was
attainted in 1485 for his support of Richard III his
lands were forfeited, and in March 1488 Radbourn
manor, with some 500 acres in that parish and in
Priors Hardwick, was granted to Sir John Risley in
tail male. (fn. 23) As he died early in 1512 without male
issue (fn. 24) the manor reverted to the Crown and was
restored to William Catesby's grandson William, who
died in 1517, and was succeeded by his brother
Richard, than aged 11. (fn. 25) In 1553 Richard's widow
Dame Elizabeth had part of her jointure here. (fn. 26)
William Catesby was dealing with the manor between
1573 and 1577, (fn. 27) as was Robert Catesby in 1600. (fn. 28)
On Robert's attainder for his share in the Gunpowder
Plot in 1605 his lands were forfeited, and Sir Roger
Wilbraham seems to have acquired one moiety of the
manor and advowson, of which he died seised in 1616. (fn. 29)
In the previous year he had settled this, as the manor of
LOWER RADBOURN, to the use of his second
daughter Elizabeth, who was already married to her
first cousin Thomas Wilbraham although she was only
12 at the time of her father's death. (fn. 30) Thomas and
Elizabeth Wilbraham sold the moiety to William,
Lord Spencer, in 1631. (fn. 31) With the Spencers it
remained for some sixty years. In 1691 Robert
(Spencer), Earl of Sunderland, conveyed a quarter of
the manor and advowson to Robert North; (fn. 32) and in
1704 Charles, Earl of Sunderland, sold (the other)
'moiety of a moiety' of the manor to Ralph Palmer, (fn. 33)
who appears as lord in 1712, 1739, and 1748, (fn. 34)
after which date it would seem to have been joined
to the Palmer estate of Chapel Ascote in Hodnell
(q.v.). The quarter acquired by Robert North was
presumably the manor of which Francis (North),
Earl of Guilford, was lord in 1784 (fn. 35) and Col. North
in 1850. (fn. 36)

The other moiety of the manor seems to have been
LITTLE RADBOURN, which represented the lands
held by Coventry Priory, leased in 1533 to Richard
Catesby at 46s. 8d., (fn. 37) and granted in 1564 to Clement
Throckmorton, (fn. 38) who sold to William Catesby in
1573. (fn. 39) In 1601 the Catesby trustees sold to Sir
Ranulph Crewe, (fn. 40) whose grandson John in 1650 sold
to John Dryden the moiety of the manor of Radbourn. (fn. 41)
Sir John Dryden and Lady Spencer owned the
'decayed towns of Over and Nether Radbourn' in
1651. (fn. 42) From the Drydens it passed early in the 18th
century to Ralph Sneyd. (fn. 43) By 1733 Robert Pigott,
senior and junior, were dealing with the manor, (fn. 44) and
one of that name was 'one lord' of the manor in 1756 (fn. 45)
and 1770 (fn. 46) and in 1772 conveyed a quarter of the
manor and rectory to Samuel and Henry Cleaver, (fn. 47)
who passed it to John Warren in 1775. (fn. 48) As already
mentioned, the Abbey of Combe had a considerable
estate in Radbourne, for which they had a grant of
free warren in 1290. (fn. 49) In 1291 it was rated as 2 carucates, worth 20s., as well as 6s. 3d. in rents, (fn. 50) and
additional small gifts were received from time to time. (fn. 51)
In 1481 the monks leased RADBOURN GRANGE to
William Catesby, (fn. 52) and it was still in the tenure of that
family at the Dissolution and in 1556, when the
'manor, farm, and grange' of Radbourn was granted to
Thomas Wilkes. (fn. 53) It then descended with the manor
of Hodnell (q.v.), being divided after the death of
Robert Wilkes in 1577 between his three sisters and
their heirs.

Advowson

The church of Radbourn was given,
as already mentioned, to Henwood
Priory, but by 1417 the advowson
had been acquired by the Catesbys and attached to the
manor. In 1622 and 1625 Sir Ranulph Crewe and
Thomas Wilbraham presented jointly, (fn. 54) and in 1645
Sir Ranulph alone, (fn. 55) as did John Dryden in 1676 and
Lord North in 1693. (fn. 56) Presentations were made by
Ralph Sneyd in 1713, Randolph Palmer in 1724,
Robert Pigott in 1754, and Robert Ladbroke in 1800. (fn. 57)
The rectory is now united with the benefice of Ladbroke and is in the gift of trustees.

There is no mention of the church in the Taxatio of
1291, but in 1341 the 'chapel' of Radbourn was said
to be assessed at 25 marks. (fn. 58) In 1535 it is styled a
'parish church', of which the rector received a yearly
payment of £5 6s. 8d. from Richard Catesby, (fn. 59) but the
church had by then probably fallen into decay. In
1616 it is definitely called 'the ruined church of Upper
Radbourn', (fn. 60) and for the last three hundred years or
more such few inhabitants as the parish has had have
attended Ladbroke Church.